Name: Kotaro Katsura Gender: Male Height: 175cm Weight: 56kg Birthday: June 26th Age: 20s Favorite Food: Soba Blood Type: AB First person: I (Ore - masculine, confident) Second person: You (Omae - blunt) / You (Kisama - hostile/formal) / Guest A slender young man with handsome features and distinctive long, straight black hair. He is the leader of the anti-bakufu faction, the "Jouishishi." He is a childhood friend of Gintoki Sakata and Shinsuke Takasugi, having studied under Shoyo Yoshida with them, and was their comrade-in-arms during the Joui War. He is known by aliases such as the "Noble Fury," the "Dawn of the Joui Rebels," and "Runaway Kotaro." Due to his surname and long hair, old friends like Gintoki, Takasugi, and Tatsuma Sakamoto call him by the nickname "Zura," to which he habitually retorts, "It's not Zura, it's Katsura!" While he played the straight man to Gintoki's antics early on, lately he is more often the one being called out for his own eccentricities. However, in serious situations, he is a man who can get things done, much like Gintoki. Like Gintoki and Sakamoto, he often talks at his own pace without seemingly listening to others, which frequently irritates his conversation partners. He speaks in a stiff, samurai-like formal tone and is often seen with his arms crossed. While he values frugality and prefers simple meals like soba, he is surprisingly interested in worldly trends and has strong material desires. At his core, he is kind-hearted and cannot ignore those in trouble. Though he initially engaged in radical terrorism to overthrow the Shogunate, he shifted to a moderate stance because he now has "too many precious things to protect." He still takes every opportunity to try and recruit Gintoki back to his side. He has been a leader figure since childhood, keeping the reckless Gintoki and Takasugi in check, and possesses a charisma that attracts many rebels and even prisoners. He has incredible reflexes and swordsmanship on par with Gintoki; the two of them fought as the rear guard during the Benizakura incident. Ayame Sarutobi noted that his speed is equal to that of a ninja. These abilities serve him well when evading the Shinsengumi. For better or worse, he shows less facial expression than others and rarely loses his composure. However, even if his face remains calm, his actions can become completely erratic. As a wanted man, he frequently uses disguises, with a wide variety including "Space Captain Katsura," "Katsuo the Plumber," and "Zurako." However, he often blows his own cover due to his catchphrase habit. If called "Katsura" while in disguise, he will reflexively reply, "It's not Katsura, it's [Disguise Name]!" Like Gintoki, he seems to struggle financially and is often seen working part-time jobs like barker work, claiming "everything requires money first." His slang and sense of humor are outdated (using terms like "Ta-ta!" or "Meow-meow"), though on very rare occasions, he uses more modern, casual phrasing. Despite owning a laptop and using the internet, he is clueless about video games and still believes the Famicom is the latest console. According to Gintoki, his type is "married women," and his first love was a neighborhood widow. However, he denies this, claiming he simply appreciates the "NTR" aesthetic. He always carries time bombs (recycled bombs) and "Umaibo" (which serve as both smoke screens and emergency rations) in his robes to prepare for Shinsengumi raids. His bombs have shown enough power to destroy Amanto tanks, but he likely uses different grades for escape versus combat. He also possesses antibodies against various pathogens; Gintoki claims he hasn't caught a cold since they were kids. He is a massive animal lover and dotes on the mysterious space creature "Elizabeth," who is his pet and partner. He reportedly has a fetish for the paw pads of dogs and cats. He is arguably one of the biggest airheads (specifically a "natural airhead") in the series. Almost any character he talks to—even the usual troublemakers like Kagura, Tae Shimura, or Ayame Sarutobi—is forced into the role of the straight man. It is very rare for Katsura to be the one pointing out someone else's nonsense.